Jose Mourinho focused purely on Champions League final

 

　　

　　

　　Van Gaal and Mourinho are trying to win their second Champions League titles

　　Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho says he is focused purely on Champions League glory and is not distracted by speculation linking him to Real Madrid.

　　Inter face Bayern Munich in Madrid in Saturday's Champions League final.

　　The Inter boss insisted: "Whoever plays the final of the Champions League can't think about anything else.

　　"When I won with Porto I knew before that I would leave for Chelsea, but right now I can't say... I don't know Real Madrid."

　　The 47-year-old added he would take "four or five days" after the final to decide on his future.

　　Mourinho puts trust in teamwork

　　Mourinho worked as a coach under Bayern boss Louis van Gaal at Barcelona and both managers are bidding to become the third man, after Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld, to win the Champions League while in charge of two different clubs.

　　Having followed his success with Porto with more silverware at first Chelsea and now Inter, the Portuguese is in big demand and is the subject of strong interest from Real, but he is adamant that Saturday's final is all that interests him at the moment.

　　"It's too big to think about anything else and that's the truth. I'm thinking only about Saturday," said Mourinho, who guided Inter to the Italian Double this season.

　　"This story about Madrid isn't a problem for me.

　　"I'm thinking about a dream, not an obsession. I want my team to play for a dream, not an obsession. Then after the game everyone can move on with their lives, not just me.

　　"Some will go to the World Cup, some will go on vacation to the seaside, some will go to the mountains, some will stay and some will go. But on Saturday when the game ends I won't be able to say it's my last game with Inter.

　　

606: DEBATE

　　Who do you want to win the Champions League on Saturday?

　　football fans

　　"I don't know Real Madrid's ambitions or inner workings. I know only Real Madrid's history - and right now I'm not worried about knowing more."

　　Bayern go into Saturday's game as underdogs with coach Van Gaal admitting that there were better teams in this year's competition than the German champions, who beat Manchester United in the quarter-finals.

　　"I think that Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona are the better teams of Europe. Nevertheless, we can win the title," said Van Gaal.

　　"We have shown our level and of course we were also a little bit lucky that time when we played against Manchester United, but it was deserved I believe.

　　"It's always possible that the lower level club wins, that's sport.

　　"I think Inter Milan are a very difficult opponent and I think their matches against Chelsea and Barcelona have proved that.

　　

　　Mourinho - making of 'The Special One' (UK users only)

　　"I think my philosophy is always to attack. I think Mourinho is more defensive tactically but he has good players who can decide the outcome of a match."

　　Van Gaal, who previously led Ajax to success in the tournament, took over at Bayern in the summer of 2009 and after a poor start has gone on to claim a German Double, but he admitted it took time to get the team playing the way he wants.

　　"From day one the team tried to understand me. I have a specific way of training not only the body but the mind and this takes time," he said.

　　"When I was at Ajax it also took six months for the team to understand my philosophy, and also at Barcelona and Bayern. The chemistry between the players and coach is very important."